A weekly dose of ideas, insights, and simple action
Hey Rollers,
It’s time to call ourselves out. Me included.
A lot of us say we believe in ourselves but never take action. The problem is that’s not belief. It’s self-flattery, or worse, self-preservation.
“I could run a marathon if I trained…”
“I could start a business if I wasn’t so busy…”
These are statements designed to keep us comfortable, not committed.
You can yell affirmations into the mirror all day long but confidence from belief alone is fragile. Can it be trusted when the going gets tough?
Smart Toughness challenges how we think. It says, don’t start with belief. Start with doing. And let the evidence build the belief.
Because here’s the truth: I could ≠ I did.
Let’s take Alex Honnold as an example.
Yes, the crazy mofo who free soloed El Capitan. That means he climbed a 3,000-foot (almost 1km) vertical rock face in Yosemite with no ropes, no harness and NO second chances.
People watched that and called him fearless, almost superhuman (hard to argue).
But what most don’t know is that before the big solo climb, Honnold trained every section of that wall hundreds of times. With ropes, notepads and in obsessive detail.
He didn’t just believe he could do it. He knew because he’d already done it in pieces, in practice, and under pressure.
What looked like raw confidence was actually a stack of evidence.
Think of it as the “Do Hard Things Prophecy”:
You do the hard thing → You prove to yourself you can → You believe more → You do harder things.
We get caught up thinking it’s about hype, when in actual fact it’s about momentum.
And yes, science backs this up.
Every time you take on a meaningful challenge, a part of your brain called the anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC) lights up. It handles effort, motivation, and emotional resilience – and it physically grows when you do hard things.
But there is a catch, the aMCC only kicks in when something actually feels hard. If it’s too easy or too familiar, it stays quiet.
So for those of you wondering, struggle isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.
In fact, it’s the whole point.
Until next week, keep rolling.
Justin 👊
Take Action in 3 Minutes
- Think of one thing you’ve told yourself you could do (but haven’t).
- Name one small action that would turn that belief into evidence.
- Do it. Today. Even if it’s small. Especially if it’s small.
- Can’t do it today? No excuses – schedule it this week. Right now. Add it to your calendar.